Conditional alarm clock

Question

I am a heavy sleeper who needs a "smart" mobile alarm. In terms of being smart, I want it to ring only if I (the device) am or am not at a specific area(s) at the specified time.

For example, I have to leave home at least by 9:15 for work to get on time. I can then set an alarm like:

time     : 09:17 AM on weekdays
location : home
condition: when I AM there
ringtone : the_most_noisy_annoying_music_cause_i_m_still_home.mp3

or in a more challenging way:

time     : 09:18 AM on weekdays
location : (the "path" from my place to work which I've previously set)
condition: when I am NOT there
ringtone : i_am_screwed.mp3

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Requirements:

• to be an Android app
• (optional) to keep silent if it's unsure with where itself is

Answer 1

^{As an app able to do that amongs other things is acceptable:}

There are several Automation tools available on Android which can be used to achieve this. I'm using Tasker for this kind of stuff – and with this app, would approach your goal like this:¹

We set up a profile, which basically joins a condition to a task. Let's take your first example:

Profile "I am Here":

• Condition:
  • Time: From: 9:17 (no "to", as we want exactly this point in time)
  • Day: Day of week: Chose the days (Mon to Fri)
  • Location: (Set your location)²
• Task: Media › Music Play, and chose the .mp3 file to be played

Profile "I am not there":

For "the path" things might become a little more tricky. It would work similar to the above, and best thing I can think of is collecting the CellIDs on your path, and use them as "location" (i.e. "anywhere near those CellIDs"). You can also invert a condition (which is what you probably need: you're not near to any of those CellIDs).

Personal experience:

I use similar solutions with Tasker e.g. to turn WiFi on when I'm home (via CellIDs – so no GPS or network needed for that), and off when I'm leaving home. Works wonderfully. As a side-effect, you'll get many more opportunities; to get an idea, be welcome to take a look at my Collection of Tasker Resources.

Tasker is available at the playstore for about USD 5 / EUR 3. A free 7-day trial is available for download on their homepage. Alternatively, there are some other automation tools which might be capable of the same (see the link above) – e.g. Llama, which comes for free. But as a Tasker user, I'm not familiar with the others, so I cannot really comment on them.

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^{1: this is just "pseudo-code", not a tested solution – but shows perfectly how to do it with Tasker}

^{2: Tasker can deal with different location sources, e.g. GPS, network location, Cell IDs. Make your choice. In terms of battery usage, GPS is most expensive, CellID least.}